1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to methods and devices for sensing a pain, and more particularly, to a method and device for sensing a pain generated due to a contact of an object by using a piezoelectric material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, artificial tactile sensors have been applied to various applications from simple input systems of mobile devices to complicated finger systems of android robots and have been studied in attempts to mimic the human sense of touch.
For human beings, psychological feeling such as softness, roughness or pain is important for interactions with other humans and objects. Furthermore, pain is an essential feeling that protects the human body from sharp objects such as a knife, a needle, or a nail.
Because a hand of a human can feel pain, when the hand is pricked by a needle or thorn, the human may minimize damage to his or her hand by immediately react to the prick.
However, existing artificial tactile sensors applied to touch panels or robot hands so far simply detect pressure without generation of psychological feelings or focus on achieving a grip control to hold an egg or some other fragile object.
If a pain sensing device, such as an artificial tactile sensor capable of generating an artificial pain signal, is developed, an android robot hand or mobile phone touch display including the pain sensing device can be better protected from contact with sharp objects or from harsh environments. However, devices for generating psychological feeling of a human, such as pain, have not been developed so far.